Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain (ローランドデスチェーン Desuchen Roorando) is a Mage from the small country known as Sin. He is a former slave of the Ragnarok Beast, Jadow, so to hide himself from his former master, he has taken on the alias Hunter Black. He is currently employed by the Magic Council as a member of the Armed Wizards. He is the elder brother of Morgan Deschain and is the one who was able to convince her to escape from her own slavery. Appearance Roland is a rather tall man. He has white hair and blue eyes. For attire, he wears a black shirt covered with a dark red bulletproof vest. Over that he wears a short sleeved red trenchcoat with short, rolled up sleeves. He wears ebony black pants and matching boots. If he should ever need extra leg protection, he wears scarlet red leather leggings. Personality Roland is a very laid back individual. Nothing ever seems to phase him in the slightest, allowing him to remain level-headed despite the opposition. His level-headedness comes in handy as a Rune Knight, giving him the clarity to plan how to deal best with whatever is in his way. Stemming from his time as a slave, Roland has no sympathy for the people who abuse their power for selfish gain at the expense of less fortunate people, instead devoting his attention to those without power, befriending them and giving them what he can to aid them. During his time as a member of the Armed Wizards division, he's grown close to his comrades in the Drake Squad, and the trio have become his closest friends, especially his partner, Rubie Diamond. Despite every endeavor to keep them at arm's length, they wore down his emotional walls and eventually got him out of his shell, and they mean the world to him, to the point he's known to do reckless things for their sake. Even a momentary rage-filled altercation with Constantine did little to change how he felt about his commander. He's developed affections for Rubie over the two years they've been partners, and despite his best efforts, he cannot bring himself to confess his feelings, fearing rejection almost as much as he fears what he imagines Jadow would do to her. Regardless of his fears, he still goes out of his way to do things for her. While under the guise of Hunter Black, he was very vulgar and as such, Roland cames across as an un-cultured and boorish man, hiding his true depths from many people in the process, making it easier to keep up his little masquerade. Equipment Yatsumaru (八つ丸 Eight Perfection): One of the numerous blades in Roland’s possession, Yatsumaru is one of his most dangerous weapons. A rather plain looking katana, the sword seems to be unremarkable, but holds a personal significance to him, becoming more of a symbol than an actual weapon. Although he refuses to use it, he explains that the weapon should never be used, as it is too sharp and smooth to be normal, the blood slides off and it will never chip or dull. According to Roland, because of the traits it exhibits, no proper sheath could hope to contain it, making it fail to meet his definition of a sword. Yatsumaru is said by Roland to be one of a pair of swords representing the unity and duality of light and dark, with the sibling blade in the care of Magic and Abilities Requip (換装 Kansō): Roland is a master of Requip, allowing him to swap weapons and armor on the fly, giving him a distinct advantage in combat. He most often uses his magic to swap out guns, ammunition, armor and even swords to better suit his situation. The amount of equipment he keeps within his pocket dimension is unknown. Armourize (暴走覆い (アーマーライズ), Āmāraisu lit. Rampaging Shroud): A Lost Magic of incredible power, Armourize is Roland’s trump card, and as such only is seen on the rare occasion he is pushed to his limits. Exerting his magical power to the maximum, he manifests a demonic suit of armor around himself. Scarlet plates cover his torso, arms and head and a glowing yellow faceplate completes the armor. His Armourise is called Crimson Nova and offers him incredible defenses. The carmine steel can use additional magic power to seemingly regenerate from any cracking or breaking short of being entirely destroyed in a single blow. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: Roland is first and foremost a swordsman and in combat, it shows with his favorite weapons being a various assortment of blades and regardless of their style, he wields them with incredible proficiency, even dual-wielding both his signature katana and his custom broadsword in tandem without any difficulty. Master Marksmanship Specialist: Roland has mastered the use of firearms, giving him a tactical advantage whenever he needs to fight at a range. While he has shown himself to favor rifles, he's equally as capable with either pistols or shotguns as well. His guns are capable of firing elemental ammunition just as easily as they can regular bullets. Immense Strength: Roland's physical strength is incredible. He can heft a sword as heavy as Arondight single-handed and swing it as if it were nothing more than a toothpick, while wearing the Crimson Nova as well. Trivia Roland's name is a reference to the Dark Tower novels by Stephen King, directly lifted from the protagonist, the gunslinger. His theme would be Like the Shadows by Kamelot. His appearance is based on the anime version of Dante from the Devil May Cry series. The name of his katana is a homage to the author's friend Sadow-sama and his main character, Sadow Yatsumaru, who likewise uses Dante as an image source.